ORIGIN - Fire at our Feet as we Hunt

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He followed Leon's heels as closely as he could. Food! Hunting! He was really excited! Apparently Leon was going to teach them how to get food? Whatever food was.

They walked to the really big pool with the waterfall crashing into it, the cold spray making this the coldest part of the room. He was a little pouty about that, since he really didn't want to get near the cold, but this was Leon! He would trust Leon with anything, cause they were nice and wise and complimented him and big and warm like him!

"So what should we do, Leon?" He said, hardly keeping his energy to himself! As it was, he was dancing on his paws, hopping around the edge of the lagoon, peering into it. He didn't want to get wet again.

He looked around, wondering if Grimm followed them both.

"Speech"

@Leon
@Grimmloch

It looked like Grimm had wandered off on his own, but Leon didn't mind. The younger bear probably had other plans of his own, or maybe he just wasn't interested in fishing. Leon felt it came naturally to him, but to each their own. He lumbered alongside the little coyote, occasionally glancing down at the youth with a broad smile and finding himself laughing at Firenze's enthusiasm. Playing in the water would probably be soothing, especially if they tried to use their magic some more. He didn't want to risk anybody getting any burns. The boy was still so young, it would be a shame if he singed himself because of his magic. Leon would feel even worse if it was the product of his own encouragement.

As they reached the lagoon, Leon leaned onto his haunches and lazily scratched at his stomach. "Well, you want to hunt, right?" He blinked down at the boy with another broad grin. "So we need to find something to hunt! This lagoon is always full of fish, but I can't seem to see any..." The bear lifted his paw to his brows and peered out. The flash of scales gleamed beneath the surface of the water, but Leon feigned ignorance, hoping Firenze would point them out. Maybe he'd even get a laugh out of the kid.

@Firenze

( wow this is sooo super late, my god o3o;;;; )

Firenze looked at Leon, then down at the water, and said happily, "I see some, I see some! Are these things food, these fish things?" He reached in with his paws and tried to grab one, then flinched and pulled them out. "It's cold," He pouted.

But those fish were still there, gently swimming under the surface, and he paused. Maybe if he was really quick....

He dashed his paws under the water, startling most of them, and managed to grab one! But as he laughed and pulled it out of the water, it slipped from his grasp. He gasped in surprise, then jumped into the water to chase after it, splashing cold water everywhere without a care, then thrust his head under the water, coming back out with the thing in his teeth.

"M mhph mm!" He muffled, proudly shaking his head around to show Leon. He walked over to the big bear with a soaked and dripping coat, then dropped the fish into the bear's lap. "Look, see, I did it!" His tail swished back and forth, swinging water droplets as it did so. "Now what?"

"Speech"

@Leon

(no worries, as we all know, i take one million years to post :') )

Leon lingered excitedly at the edge of the pool, looking over at Firenze. He watched the young coyote pinpoint the fish with gusto, and a proud smile spread on his lips. "Yes, tasty, tasty food!" The bear laughed. Only a couple seconds later, the coyote dipped his paw in only to withdraw it at the biting cold. Leon twisted his ears back with mild concern, but mostly amusement - he'd already had his fair share of encounters with the cold, and Leon was slowly growing desensitized to his overprotectiveness of the pup. To be quite honest, Leon had a feeling he was going to be a helicopter parent, if his time with the coyote had anything to show for his parenting approach.

The bear was momentarily distracted with his thoughts on parenting when the pup had suddenly dashed his paw into the water, startling him. Leon's eyes widened and he jumped back a bit, staring as the coyote pulled a fish out of the water by some miracle, only to lose it, and then dive back in with his jaws. By the end of the affair, Firenze had caught the fish in his teeth and proudly displayed it to the bear, who clapped his paws together. "Wow! That was quicker than I expected," He commented idly, laughing again as he stared down at the fish in his lap. Well... if this kid was some kind of a fishing prodigy... maybe Leon could make bank off of that. It certainly would do Maji Walezi well, wouldn't it?

"I got an idea! How about you and I have a fish-off?" Leon added with a hint of mischief, grinning down at the coyote. "It'll hone your fishing skills, and I bet everybody else in Maji Walezi wouldn't mind having a meal they didn't have to catch! What do you say?" That certainly sounded all well and good, however... "Oh! And, say, if you win... I'll teach you some super cool fire moves! But if I win? Hmm... you gotta wear a fish on your head!" The bear snickered.

@Firenze

"A fish off?" Firenze tilted his head, then understood and brightened up, hopping on his feet, splashing water again. "Fish-off! Fish-off! I can catch more fish than you can, Leon! And I'll be really strong with magic! And then you'll wear the fish on your head!" He laughed and went back into the water, disregarding how cold it was for the excitement of the challenge.

His careless splashing scared away most of the fish he saw, but one swam right towards him, either because it thought he was a source of food or because of the current, he didn't know and didn't give much thought to it. He just dashed and tried to nab it with his paws, pulling it out of the water, laughing and shouting when it slipped right out of his paws, flying in the air for a brief second, before he grabbed it again with his paws and he threw it back to to Leon to flop on the shore.

"Okay Leon, top that!" He grinned mischievously, dancing on his paws.

"Speech"

@Leon

When the little coyote jumped to his paws and splashed water everywhere, Leon couldn't hold back his laugh. He rose up to his paws too; had he a more canine build, more slender and light on the feet, he would have danced around in his excitement. The bear continued to laugh as Firenze met his challenge and threw it back at him, prompting Leon to wrinkle his nose in a wry grin. "Oh, we'll see!" He answered with a scoff, but had very little time to prepare for this little competition. Firenze's excited bouncing and splashing had scared a good portion of the cloud of fish away, causing Leon a minor flash of worry. He edged away from the water and away from the child, peering beyond the surface but found himself undeniably distracted by the youth's floundering in the water.

Before he knew it, Firenze had captured a fish and thrown it on the ground. Surprised by how quickly the pup had managed to catch one, Leon quirked a brow and grinned mischievously. "Pfff, lucky break, kid! Now see how the pro does it!" Leon rumbled out a thunderous laugh and turned his eyes back to the lagoon, searching for the telltale flash of scales beneath the surface.

Post-Roll Edit:
He was silent for a good minute or so, searching for his prey. He made a point of trying to be a little more graceful than Firenze - after all, he firmly believed that those first couple fish he managed to catch were by complete fluke. It took more than blind luck to catch a fish, didn't it? After all, Leon had spent... like... his whole life learning how to fish... He eyed Firenze suspiciously now, wondering if somehow he'd been blessed with some mysterious super power. Wait. What was that? His mind flickered back to the lagoon. At some point in his thoughts, Leon had waded into the water - it lapped at his ankles, dampening his thick cinnamon fur. A medium-sized fish had come wriggling up nearby. It was tentative, and at his slight movements it darted away, only to slowly turn back to him. Leon leaned forward, raising his paw ever so slowly, ever so cautiously - then as soon as the fish was close enough, he shot into the water, cupping his paw around the fish and swooping it right out of the lagoon. He sent the fish flying through the air only to land with a thump on the ground next to Firenze's. The resulting splash had startled most of the fish away again but he knew it wouldn't be long before they returned. With another peal of laughter, Leon looked back at Firenze and grinned. "Top that, kiddo!"

@Firenze

He watched with a smug smirk as Leon carefully and patiently caught a fish that was just as big as his, yawning at certain points while Leon as ever so still, completely focused on catching one. He considered sneaking up behind Leon and spooking him, but that would be cheating, and it would be mean, besides. When Leon finally caught one and threw it over to where his now lay still, Firenze laughed, his tail wagging back and forth playfully. "I can get one bigger than that, Leon, easy peasy, and do it a lot faster! Waiting for it is so boring!"

He splashed into the water again, chasing after the fish that swam away from them both, and when the pools got deeper, he kicked his legs around, focusing so intently on the fish that dove under the surface that he was unafraid. As if he'd done it a million times, he swallowed a gulp of air and put his head under, bright yellow eyes glinting under the water, intent on catching one of the fatter fish that stayed away from the surface.

He was incredibly lucky, and there one was, fleeing right next to his side, and with a quick twist of his head he snapped it up in his teeth, ice cold water seeping through, meshing with the overwhelming fishy taste. Firenze burst through the water with a strong kick of his legs, completely ungraceful and wild, getting back to the shallow part of water easily. With a ridiculous swagger than only a child could have, he placed the very dead fish next to the growing pile, a smug aura radiating from his every pore as water dripping down him in rivulets.

The new fish he caught was quite obviously bigger than the others. "Top that, Leon." He said, teasing.

"Speech"

@Leon

BORING?! He didn't think his method of catching fish was boring! It was... effective! And smart! And economic! It was ensuring the capture of a fish, even though it sacrificed time - but what would let you live longer in the first place, time or food? Sure if you had all the time in the world, that was great, but your body would still waste away without food! That was why it was absolutely imperative - it was important, it was vital!! And he!!! Thought it was boring!!!! Leon was pretty much aghast at the young coyote, gaping his jaws with a gasp and then screwing up his face with a frown. "Alright! We'll see how long you survive with that attitude!" He guffawed and leaned back onto his rump, crossing his big fat bear arms while watching the youth cavort through the waters.

Of course knowing Leon's luck, the boy need only sink his teeth in the water and a fish would SWIM right into them. Sure enough, it only took him a couple seconds before catching one and lobbing it onto the edge with the rest of the fish they had already caught. Leon was stunned - and then he was utterly offended. "NO WAY! IMPOSSIBLE!" He scowled and ran towards the water, skidding to a halt before he would have toppled in. "I'M!!! YOU!!! JUST YOU WATCH!!!" The bear howled and splashed into the water. Maybe using Firenze's technique, he'd catch something just as quick.

Post-Roll Edit:
Maybe he was cursed. Maybe it was just bad luck. Maybe it was... hubris, or something. As soon as the bear's massive body splashed into the water, the fish had darted off in every direction, abandoning him in its crystal clear depths. He swung his paws through the lagoon and paddled around, rambling basically nonsense at this point in between dipping his head down and spitting out water. He was basically just a big sputtering mess, searching furiously for the fish that had all fled and hid. Maybe Firenze was just lucky enough to have caught the last super dumb one. Regardless, Leon was left searching aimlessly for a fish, an endeavor that would ultimately end in failure.

@Firenze

When Leon just started sputtering and losing his cool, Firenze started laughing, and when the bear went into the water splashing about and completely scaring the fish off, he rolled back onto his haunches and just laughed as hard as he could, till tears were rolling down his cheeks, his childish laughter high-pitched and wild. He was having the time of his life watching this big dignified bear spitting water and utter nonsense in hilarious frustration.

When Leon finally gave up and sat down on the edge of the lagoon, Firenze, just as wet as him, patted him gently with his paw and said, "Now just watch the master, Leon. It's okay, maybe your age makes you slow, and that's not your fault!" Teasingly, he stuck out his tongue and ran back into the water, realizing he really liked it despite the cold. Swimming was fun! Catching fish was really fun! Teasing Leon was just as fun!

Before he dove under, he took a really deep breath and dove even deeper than before, underneath the fish. He waited just for a little, till his lungs started to burn, staring upwards at the shimmering light filtering through the surface, and when fish started to come back lazily, forgetting the fear, he shot up as quickly as he could, aiming at the fattest fish he saw, and came right through the surface with it wriggling in his mouth. He threw it back onto the shore and followed its thrashing mess that flopped onto the freshly dead pile, and just gave Leon the cockiest grin he possible could.

"Just leave the fish-catching to the young, old man," He laughed, his tail swishing in mischief.

"Speech"

@Leon

YOU ARE CRUEL, FIRENZE!!

Yup. Leon was convinced that Firenze had mystical fish catching qualities. Maybe he was blessed, maybe he's been born under a full moon, maybe he was granted a gypsy curse in exchange for his ability to catch fish with so much ease. Maybe someone rubbed a magical fish on the boy's chrysalis while he was still growing. Whatever the reason was, Firenze had surely and without a doubt trumped Leon. The bear had pulled himself out of the water and collapsed on the ground, his muscles sore and strained, his bones aching from furiously swimming and he had verily given up like the old man he was, succumbing to his certain arthritis. Granted, he was probably being a little over dramatic - the bear was seven cycles young after all - but losing so badly made him feel a thousand years older than he really was.

His lungs deflated with a sad sigh and he rolled over, barely catching sight of Firenze diving down and catching another fish. Just to rub salt in the wounds, eh? He huffed and sat up, crossing his arms. "I hope a fish bites your butt, kiddo." He teased and stuck his tongue out. All in good fun... or maybe not. Leon was notorious for his temper.

"Okay, I'll give. You win. That's, what," The bear snorted and turned to examine the fish pile. Three fat fish sat on top of Leon's measly, runty fish. "three to one! Gosh, but you couldn't eat all those fish, could you?" He teased, looking back at Firenze with another grin. He'd probably have to bring one to Makyna and maybe tell Bevy, or anybody else around in the cave, in case anybody was in the mood for a free meal.

@Firenze

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